Money Talks: Explosive Insights on The Weekly Money Clip - April 1st Edition

[00:00:00] What happens after the Truth Social IPO? Another CR means what for the economy? California

[00:00:18] is leading a test for other states. Our news networks are allowed to be balanced now

[00:00:24] and a shocking update on ad revenue from legacy media. Welcome back to the weekly money clip.

[00:00:29] In a market with millions of podcasts, it is tough to stay on top of the essential

[00:00:33] business and tech stories beyond headlines. This week we will be counting down five key moments

[00:00:39] from last week to give you context for the week ahead. As always, clips are under five minutes

[00:00:44] from voices you trust adding context to headlines from the week behind to prepare you for the week ahead.

[00:00:52] Before we jump in, let's review the top headlines. This past week in business, tech and finance

[00:00:57] was marked by groundbreaking developments and pivotal moments. In the realm of space innovation,

[00:01:03] OrbitFab announced a significant step towards establishing orbital refueling stations for satellites

[00:01:10] hinting at a future where space missions could become longer and more sustainable.

[00:01:15] The crypto sector experienced a noticeable surge in venture capital investments,

[00:01:20] signaling a warm-up period potentially heralding the next bull market.

[00:01:25] The tech industry saw Google DeepMind's CEO being knighted for his contributions to artificial

[00:01:30] intelligence, underlining the growing recognition of AI's impact across various sectors.

[00:01:36] Social media giants are not far behind with Instagram working on a new feature

[00:01:41] blend aimed at personalizing user experiences further. While open AI's developments in voice

[00:01:47] cloning technology promise a future where digital interactions could become indistinguishably human

[00:01:53] like. Also, the push towards generative AI in the movie industry, as highlighted by the advancements

[00:01:59] of startups like Runway, showcases the potential for AI to revolutionize content creation and consumption.

[00:02:06] This week also saw Donald Trump's Truth Social in the news with their IPO,

[00:02:11] Sam Bankman-Freeze Sentencing, and the fallout from a tragic accident at Baltimore's Frances Scott

[00:02:16] Keybridge. Those were the key headlines. Now let's dive into the stories behind the headlines.

[00:02:22] This week we welcome Josh Hammer, Seth Denson, Jennifer Horn, James Breslow, and Scott Stantis.

[00:02:28] At number five in our countdown we begin with Josh Hammer. He is the Newsweek opinion editor,

[00:02:34] host of the Josh Hammer Show, syndicated columnist, and Edmund Burke Foundation Research Fellow.

[00:02:40] Looking at the Truth Social IPO, one thing is clear, it resembles a bubble.

[00:02:45] Hammer says Donald Trump's ownership of over 50% raises questions about its future.

[00:02:51] With a value of four to five billion dollars, the company is under scrutiny for its cash flow.

[00:02:56] Despite this, Trump has locked in for six months prohibiting immediate selling. Speculation is

[00:03:02] rife about potential ways he may use his shares, including securing a loan against them.

[00:03:08] Despite its current state as a bubble, the evolving saga of Truth Social is bound to captivate

[00:03:14] investors. Here is the segment from Josh. The Truth Social IPO is really a remarkable event for

[00:03:21] numerous reasons, one of which is the obvious fact that for many people it seems to be a

[00:03:28] bit of a bubble. I think it would be a polite way of saying it. It would be, I think, a less polite

[00:03:32] more blunt way of saying it was to say that it seems incredibly inflated at the exact moment

[00:03:38] where is the cash coming from? Where are the revenues coming from? There's just a lot of

[00:03:42] basic questions here. Certainly it has all the external appearances of a bubble.

[00:03:49] The big question, then, really is how is Donald Trump going to utilize this? What is he going

[00:03:55] to do with the fact that he currently owns a greater than 50% stake in this company that based

[00:04:01] on the current share price is valued somewhere between roughly four to five billion dollars or so.

[00:04:08] He has a lock-up agreement for the first six months right now after the company goes public so he

[00:04:14] can't liquidate his assets in the company quite yet. Will the shareholders go ahead and grant him

[00:04:21] some sort of dispensation? Will they go ahead and allow him to sell the shares? Probably not,

[00:04:27] because it would have the obvious effect of decreasing the share price. No one would be particularly

[00:04:32] happy about that. But it's possible. Again, this is true social. It's the Trump technology

[00:04:38] immediate group. I mean, this is Donald Trump's company so you have to imagine that behind

[00:04:42] the scenes when it comes to a decision like that help you able to toss his weight,

[00:04:46] throw his influence around there behind closed doors. Even if he can't actually get around

[00:04:52] the lock-up agreement, get dispensation as she starts selling shares in order to raise the money

[00:04:56] that he desperately needs to pay for his legal fees to pay for this bond payment in Tish James'

[00:05:02] fraud case against him in New York City. Even if he can't get out of the lock-up agreement,

[00:05:06] can he actually borrow? Can he actually use these shares as collateral to actually get a loan

[00:05:14] to either again pay that bond payment which was reduced earlier this week down from a

[00:05:20] $4.54 million down to $175 million or can he use it to go ahead and pay his lawyers for all the

[00:05:25] increasingly and rapidly escalating legal bills? He probably will be able to use it as collateral,

[00:05:33] but because of the highly speculative nature of the stock and the fact that it's a new IPO and whatnot,

[00:05:37] he'll probably have to get a steep rate. It will essentially be a haircut. It's basically like

[00:05:46] trading a stock with a high margin. It's more volatile stock and you're not necessarily going

[00:05:51] to be borrowed a particularly favorable ratio or rate, but that's probably what's likely to happen

[00:05:57] here is that he's going to use his shares or attempt to use the shares as collateral to get some

[00:06:03] sort of loan to pay the bond payment in the Tish James case and or legal fees. But for now,

[00:06:08] has all the makings of a bubble if we're just being candid about this? And I personally am not

[00:06:14] going to go anywhere near this from an investment perspective at the moment, but it's an exciting

[00:06:19] story and certainly makes for interesting entertainment to follow.

[00:06:27] We now continue the countdown with number four. We join Seth Denson. Seth is a business and market

[00:06:33] analyst, entrepreneur, Newsmax contributor and columnist, TEDx speaker and best selling author.

[00:06:39] Recently, the House of Representatives passed another continuing resolution,

[00:06:43] averaging four per year. Despite frustration, Denson urges Republicans not to change the speaker

[00:06:49] of the House during this election year. Winning elections is the key to setting the tone and

[00:06:53] reducing the need for continuing resolutions. With minimal control over Congress, stability is crucial.

[00:07:01] He urges focus on long term success and avoid the hunt for perfectionism. Here's the full analysis

[00:07:07] from Seth. Well, good morning, Senator Cliff friends, Seth Denson here. So yesterday House

[00:07:12] of Representatives is pushing through another continuing resolution. That now means that we are

[00:07:17] averaging four continuing resolutions per year over the last decade, meaning obviously we passed a

[00:07:23] budget. Can't stick to that budget. So we continue to pass continuing resolutions now as a conservative,

[00:07:29] I am equally frustrated with other conservatives out there as to the fact that our federal government

[00:07:34] continues to spend money like rock star in a nightclub. But here's the reality of things as a Republican

[00:07:41] in this upcoming general election year. With the calls now to change speakers of the House,

[00:07:48] here's my plea to my Republican colleagues. Don't, don't. The public already doesn't have

[00:07:54] confidence in just about every politician in Washington but really not a lot of confidence

[00:07:58] out of Republicans in large part because of the fiasco that was the last time that we ousted

[00:08:04] our speaker of the House for working with the other side. Now again, I'm not saying I love

[00:08:09] the process that we're in, but here's the solution. Win elections. Win elections and you can set

[00:08:17] the tone right now. The margin of error is very little because of how little we have control

[00:08:24] of the House representatives and obviously we don't have control of the Senate. You want to get to a

[00:08:29] place where we can get to a budget that we don't do CRs every quarter? Win elections. You know how

[00:08:34] you don't win elections? Show the public that you can't get anything done. So we're in an

[00:08:38] election year right now and it will be critical for us to get through this year not changing a

[00:08:45] speaker every time a speaker doesn't do something that the freedom caucus doesn't like or another

[00:08:50] caucus doesn't like. The enemy of good is perfection. The only way we get anywhere near perfection

[00:08:57] is to start winning elections and you don't do that when you're overthrowing your speaker

[00:09:02] the House every time they do something you don't like. There's my thought for today. Hope everybody

[00:09:07] has a great day. We'll talk soon. The world's best known investor and Wall Street expert Warren

[00:09:16] Buffett once said Wall Street is the only place that people ride to an arose Royce to get advice

[00:09:21] from those who take the subway. Mr. Buffett's quote is remarkably accurate, but how many people would

[00:09:26] rather receive advice from him than someone simply guessing? Welcome to Buyhold Cell, your single

[00:09:32] source for Wall Street knowledge and profitable guidance. Please join me Todd Schoenberger and

[00:09:37] fellow trader Tobin Smith as well as host Veronica Dudo for a podcast known to move the needle for

[00:09:42] investors. Tobin and I are seasoned Wall Street executives with deep investment experience and

[00:09:47] we are prepared to share our advice to those who choose the list. Download Buyhold Cell today on

[00:09:53] the Evergreen podcast network or your favorite podcast channel.

[00:09:58] Welcome back to number three in our weekly countdown with Jennifer Horn discussing the $20

[00:10:03] minimum wage in California for quick service food workers. Horn is the host of Is it just me

[00:10:09] or have we all lost our minds? She can be seen on CNN Fox CNN Max, Scripps News Nation, USAIDA and

[00:10:16] others. She is also a co-founder of the Lincoln project. In this audio op-edge she discusses

[00:10:21] the upcoming minimum wage increase for fast food workers employed by larger companies.

[00:10:27] The wage is set to rise from $15 to $20 an hour. This move is aimed to improve the lives of fast

[00:10:33] food workers who are increasingly older and rely on these jobs as their sole income source.

[00:10:39] However, potential drawbacks include job losses through automation and under staffing,

[00:10:44] leading to decreased customer experience. While this law is a step towards reducing public assistance

[00:10:50] costs, the impact on businesses nationwide remains to be seen. As California becomes a test case for

[00:10:57] the viability of a higher minimum wage, the future of fast food workers and the industry as a whole

[00:11:03] hangs in the balance. Let's hear the entire piece from Jennifer. Hi this is Jennifer Horn host of

[00:11:09] Is It Just Me or Have We All Lost Our Minds coming to you today on Center Clip. In just a couple

[00:11:16] of days, California will be raising their minimum wage for fast food workers that work for companies

[00:11:22] of who have more than 60 locations across the country from $15 an hour to $20 an hour.

[00:11:30] The federal minimum wage is still in the $7 range, $7 in change and we know that across the

[00:11:37] country a number of states are moving in the direction of increasing state minimum wages to

[00:11:42] the $15 an hour range. In this particular case, it is targeting a specific group of fast food

[00:11:49] workers, but it is a law and it's a change that I think is going to have a positive impact

[00:11:57] on fast food workers across the spectrum. And I'll explain why. I mean, there's first of all,

[00:12:02] it's always a positive to have a raise in pay. And even though this seems this target day defined

[00:12:10] group of fast food workers, it has the ability and the high likelihood to raise the pay again across

[00:12:19] the spectrum of fast food workers because those owners, those restaurant owners are now going to have

[00:12:24] to compete for the better workers, the better staff. And we know this is true in any industry when

[00:12:32] one outlet is willing to pay more, the others, you know, find themselves having to increase their

[00:12:38] pay as well. Or they'll find other ways to compete. Perhaps more will now start offering

[00:12:44] benefits, healthcare benefits, things like that. You know, fast food jobs, there was a time when I

[00:12:50] was young, fast food jobs were sort of assumed to be for the teens. You know, the adults were

[00:12:56] the managers and the teens came after work, you know, to flip some burgers and kind of their first

[00:13:01] job, you know, and after it's a little bit of after school work. But that's really no longer the case.

[00:13:08] 20% of fast food workers are single parents. 40% are over the age of 25. The average

[00:13:14] age of somebody who works in fast food is 26 families who rely on fast food jobs as their primary

[00:13:23] source of income, in particular working 40 hours or more a week have also are also families that

[00:13:31] rely on public or families or individuals that rely on public assistance in order to meet their

[00:13:37] needs as well. I think fewer than 40% of people who work in the fast food industry or around 40%

[00:13:44] have any sort of benefits that come along with that much less comprehensive benefits. It's

[00:13:50] it doesn't really exist in the industry. But the cons, of course, are significant as well.

[00:13:56] Jobs will be lost to this increased to automation, mostly for one, but also just lost to

[00:14:03] just lost period where you're going to start seeing a lot of these fast food restaurants being

[00:14:09] essentially understaffed. And if you're the customer, you really feel that that lack of staffing.

[00:14:15] We've seen it in other industries. We especially felt it during the pandemic and it's going

[00:14:20] to kind of feel like that for a lot of these fast food restaurants as well. Staff numbers will

[00:14:26] be reduced, staff hours will be reduced and of course prices to consumers will increase. You

[00:14:33] know, you could break down the pros and cons into a list of dozens of points, but the new law in

[00:14:38] California is going to be a test of to what degree the minimum wage increase helps to decrease

[00:14:45] the cost of public assistance. And there's no good, no good example to come up with a suggestion

[00:14:52] of how that might work out. There's no good data yet that reliably suggests that fast food jobs

[00:14:58] will ever be able to support an American family. And in a free market economy,

[00:15:04] that's not generally considered necessarily a legitimate expectation. All of which means that as

[00:15:11] we see this change in California unfold and we see, you know, start to see what the impact is

[00:15:18] going to be. I think businesses across the country and not just fast food businesses are going

[00:15:23] to be keeping a close eye on California. At number two this week, we address bias in legacy media

[00:15:33] and the business ramifications with James Breslow. He is an attorney, former gaming executive,

[00:15:39] political commentator and host of Double Down Podcast. Here is James discussing the hiring

[00:15:44] and almost immediate firing of Rana McDaniel by NBC over the past week. McDaniel, former head

[00:15:51] of the Republican National Committee, is being let go immediately, sparking a controversy among NBC

[00:15:56] and MSNBC hosts. This situation highlights the issues of media bias. The outrage stems from McDaniel's

[00:16:03] association with Trump and her challenge of the election results. This event also exposes

[00:16:09] the increasing polarization within news stations, leading to the existence of two different viewpoints

[00:16:15] and sets of facts. What is the alternative for consumers and investors? Here's what James had

[00:16:21] to say in its unedited form. Hey everybody James Breslow here for Senator Clip talking about

[00:16:28] NBC's hire and now likely immediate fire of Rana McDaniel, the former head of the Republican

[00:16:37] National Committee and the NBC and MSNBC hosts who have gone apoplectic over her hire to the point

[00:16:47] where it now appears that she's going to be immediately fired. This demonstrates a couple interesting

[00:16:52] things going on in the country. One, how serious a problem TDS is Trump derangement syndrome

[00:17:02] and how biased our news has become or I should say our news stations has become. First of all,

[00:17:09] the Trump derangement syndrome, they are so upset it's not merely that she is a conservative although

[00:17:16] that of course bothers them but they do occasionally have conservative commentators on there. It's

[00:17:22] the fact that this conservative commentator had some association with Trump. Of course she was

[00:17:27] head of the RNC under Trump so of course she was going to be supporting the Republican candidate

[00:17:32] but that was Donald Trump and therefore the TDS kicks in. In addition, she had the nerve to be part

[00:17:38] of the quote unquote big lie. She questioned the results of the election. My God questioned

[00:17:48] the results of the election. I wanted to make sure that all of the various states election

[00:17:54] results were 100% accurate. We have had lots of challenges to elections in the past,

[00:18:01] Bush v. Gore being the most obvious one and this one they pursued and ultimately was

[00:18:09] unable to prove it in court and Trump left of course on January 20th. Now if you want to talk

[00:18:14] about the big lie, wasn't the big lie about the 2016 election that the left said that Trump stole

[00:18:22] that through Russian collusion and that was proven beyond any doubt that the thing was all made

[00:18:30] up through the Steel dossier Hillary Clinton campaign and CIA etc but totally fine for all the

[00:18:36] people that espoused that conspiracy theory which was proven false including Rachel Matmatt and others.

[00:18:42] No problem for them to be on the air but God forbid you questioned in any way the result of the

[00:18:47] Biden v. Trump election that is the definition of TDS Trump derangement syndrome it is a real

[00:18:56] medical condition and you do need to seek help for it immediately and that applies to all these

[00:19:02] people over there at NBC that are complaining about the mere hire of Ronald McDaniel especially

[00:19:07] considering that the whole reason she was available is because Trump pushed her out of the R&C

[00:19:13] so she's no longer associated with Trump. The other thing it highlights is what's happened to

[00:19:17] our news stations and how polarized they've become and it's polarizing Americans clearly it all

[00:19:23] started with Fox News Fox News saw Elaine the major news networks were biased to the left however

[00:19:31] they had to keep some balance to them because they knew they had readers and listeners and

[00:19:36] watchers that were conservative so they were kept honestly balanced but they all leaned left.

[00:19:43] Fox News saw an opening put out a open a station that leaned right and all the conservatives

[00:19:50] flocked to it because finally thank God in their view they had balanced news what did the other

[00:19:56] ones do in response they all went way to the left because they no longer had to appeal to that

[00:20:02] audience they had lost the conservative audience there was no reason to even give lip service

[00:20:09] to that side they also of course saw how profitable Fox News became so as a result we have now have

[00:20:16] people seeing two different viewpoints of the world it's not just that we're getting two different

[00:20:22] opinions about things we're getting two different sets of facts some stations aren't even covering

[00:20:27] things that the other stations are the most obvious example is the border crisis mainstream news

[00:20:33] was not even covering the border Fox has been covering it from day one only recently has

[00:20:37] been covered by both sides the only place where you can really get both sides covered is right here

[00:20:43] on center clip where it truly is balanced and I look forward to hearing responses from those

[00:20:49] on the other side right here on center clip James Presslow have a great day everyone

[00:20:56] ready to up your game and learn more about the thrilling world sports betting introducing double

[00:21:01] down with Presslow the ultimate podcast about this business of sports gambling join me James Press

[00:21:07] Low in a long list of expert guests as we dive into the art and science of the sports betting

[00:21:11] industry evolving regulations technology enhancements in the meteoric rise and the number of players

[00:21:17] makes this sector the fastest growing and most intriguing in the world unlocked the business

[00:21:22] secrets from many of the industries most recognizable c-suite executives including famous

[00:21:26] odds makers and influencers every episode of double down with Presslow is packed inside our tips

[00:21:31] deeply skilled analysis and in-depth discussions don't miss out on the ultimate resource for

[00:21:36] mastering the business of sports betting listen to double down with Presslow on the ever

[00:21:40] green podcast network or wherever you listen to podcasts that's double down with Presslow

[00:21:45] the business of sports betting podcast to round out our countdown this week we have Scott

[00:21:50] Stantis to discuss the startling decline in ad revenue for legacy media and what the implications are

[00:21:57] Scott is an internationally syndicated editorial cartoonist senior fellow at the Alabama

[00:22:02] Policy Institute and co-host of DMZ America podcast Fox Media recently reported a 20% decrease

[00:22:09] in ad revenue reflecting a broader trend affecting newspapers radio stations and television

[00:22:15] networks newspapers have shifted to digital platforms or ceased print editions altogether while

[00:22:21] radio chains are cutting talent and relying on prepackaged content to save costs local television

[00:22:28] newsrooms are seeing vacant desks reducing their ability to cover important stories this decline

[00:22:34] could lead to an increase in local corruption as oversight diminishes without robust media coverage

[00:22:40] as someone who has witnessed the evolution of newsrooms Scott cautions against the gaps in news

[00:22:45] as a disturbing reality we are facing this is the entire segment from Scott hi everyone I'm editorial

[00:22:52] cartoonist Scott Stantis coming to you for money clip well some more disturbing news in mainstream

[00:22:57] media ad revenue going down for just about everybody in fact there what spurred this particular

[00:23:04] post is Fox media has just announced a 20% decline in ad revenue looking at newspapers while we all

[00:23:12] know it's happening to them many of them have ceased publishing altogether gone digital and they're

[00:23:17] struggling but radio stations to have experienced a decline a massive decline in revenue many of the

[00:23:25] chains already have gotten major holders of many many radio station licenses have announced previous

[00:23:33] to this that many of their late night in fact all the late night talent has been let go now the

[00:23:40] most recent announcement is that they're letting go of their midday people many radio stations going

[00:23:46] for prepackaged or one you know one size fits all that's a shame because local communities really

[00:23:52] do benefit from local talent and their presence there television the exact same thing if you've

[00:23:59] gone to any local television newsrooms lately you would see a shocking desert of just empty desks

[00:24:07] that go on forever what does this mean in the long run well it means that media is not going to be

[00:24:12] able to cover the things that local media needed to cover and that's a shame it means it's a

[00:24:18] housey and day for local corrupt politicians and we're going to see more and more of that and

[00:24:23] that puts more and more impetus obviously on justice department on local law enforcement or they

[00:24:29] just ignore it altogether and you can read stories what you can find from across the nation where

[00:24:36] it seems a significant uptick in that kind of corruption so it's a damn shame I hate to see it I came

[00:24:42] up in it I grew up in a television station my father was a general manager of some tv stations

[00:24:47] clearly my career has been spent for the last four plus decades in newsrooms at newspapers those

[00:24:54] are going away so what does that mean in the long run I have no earthly idea other than the

[00:25:01] advent of more corruption on the local level because nobody's going to be watching those people and

[00:25:05] if you come back at me and say that there are local news organizations and there are bloggers

[00:25:10] that are going to be covering these things horse crap the fact is you're not going to see anyone

[00:25:15] who works at a digital site going to say a zoning meeting or going to you know a late or staying

[00:25:21] at a late night city council meeting AI can pick up some of the slack by covering some of this stuff

[00:25:26] then seriously I mean but for the most part it's the news deserts that this is going to create

[00:25:32] is very very bad for all of us for my clip I'm Scott Stanis we'll have to hold it there please remember

[00:25:43] this episode presents the personal opinions of these individuals and should not be viewed as

[00:25:48] investment advice thank you to Josh hammer Seth densin Jennifer horn James brazlow and Scott

[00:25:55] stantis for their work and more in real time please visit center clip dot com this show has been

[00:26:01] produced in collaboration with cross check media management cross check redefines family office

[00:26:06] services with a distinctive blend of financial expertise media innovation and alternative investments

[00:26:12] one topic at a time leaders on both sides always under five minutes that is elevating discourse

[00:26:19] again center clip dot com for more throughout the week we'll be back next week this has been

[00:26:24] the weekly money clip

[00:26:29] welcome to don't retire graduate the podcast that asks you what you want to be when you grow up

[00:26:42] so you can graduate into retirement with a purpose and a passion whether you're 25 85 or any age

[00:26:48] in between gain actionable financial and mindset tips from your favorite authors podcasters and

[00:26:54] influencers to help you reach that exciting next chapter listen now and start building your path

[00:26:59] the financial freedom and reframing what retirement can mean to you this is your host Eric

[00:27:04] broughtman reminding you don't retire graduate